“As you can see, our new Monster Wear has the capability to stop a bullet at close range, all while being cool, comfortable and stylish,” she said, stepping out just slightly so all could see her dress. “I am fine.”
“You’re bleeding!” someone in the crowd yelled.
“I said our clothing was bulletproof, I didn’t say being shot would be pain-free.” Zoey laughed, the sound tight and high like it hurt for her to breathe. “Like I always say, if you can’t handle a bee sting then you need to stay out of the nest.”
Eli shook his head.
Once again, he felt as if she had played him for a fool. Why did he have to be so stupid when it came to Zoey Martin?
He turned, about to walk out.
“Can we all give my assistant who was willing to pull the trigger, at my request, a big round of applause? And can we also please do the same for Mr. Eli Wayne for coming to the rescue of a lady?” She motioned in his direction and gave him her perfect, sexy smile...the one that always drew him back into her nest.
Applause filled the tent. Heat rose in his cheeks as men came up and patted him on the shoulder. He wasn’t a hero. And though Zoey put on one hell of an act, she definitely wasn’t a lady...at least not in the bedroom.
Almost as if she could read his mind, Zoey reached up and unzipped her dress. The fabric gripped her body and she had to roll it down in order to get it off her. Beneath the dress were those little black shorts and a black sports bra and nothing else.
His mind went to the last night they had spent together. What had it been, two years ago now? Sometimes their breakup seemed like a lifetime ago and then on days like this, it seemed like only yesterday.
He could still recall the way she smelled after her runs, a mixture of fresh air, sweat and strength. And when she was happy, her voice always took on a special lilt as though whatever she was saying was just for him. That was one thing he missed the most, the way she had always made him feel like he was the only man she had ever loved. And yet, he was left with nothing but a broken heart and fantasies of what could have been.
Oh, Zoey... Why did she do this to him?
She turned and smiled at him as her hand moved down her waist and rested gently on her hip.
His body disobeyed his mind and he could feel himself stirring to life in all the wrong places at the sight of her half-naked body.
The last time he had seen her this unclothed, it hadn’t taken but a matter of seconds to get her into nothing at all. He could still remember the way she had tasted of salt and sweat on his lips as they made love. They had been on a takedown outside Tikrit, working a small village where a group of high-grade mercenaries, or mercs, had been holed up.
As he closed his eyes, he could almost feel the sand that had stuck to her skin as he worked his fingers down to her navel.
He stiffened further.
No.
He couldn’t think of anything sultry about Zoey. No. She had watched his heart break and left him standing alone, without a job, without a home, without a family and completely adrift.
No matter what, he couldn’t forgive her for all she had done to him and the wreckage she had left in his life.
“If you look,” she said, motioning to her midsection, “the bullet left a bruise and an abrasion, but nothing more.” She wiped her hands together in a feeble attempt to hide the blood that stained them.
She was swarmed by questions and she took her time answering each one.
He was relieved as a guard brought her a robe and she pulled it on over her body.
She was fine. She would always be just fine. She was the epitome of resilience.
He turned to leave, but Zoey waved to him as she ended the questions and bid goodbye to the crowd. He turned away, not wanting to once again do her bidding, but his resolve weakened. At the very least, before he left, he could make sure that she really was okay.
She could get up there and say she wasn’t hurt all she wanted, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some kind of internal damage from taking a hit like that. She was all show.
And he had always been the one to make sure that she wasn’t faking things so much that she couldn’t find her way back to reality.
Which made him wonder if that was part of the reason she had chosen this conference to unveil her new gear. She had to have known he would be here, hoping to catch sight of her. She had probably even known he would come to her rescue.
Maybe she missed him just as much as he missed her.
Wait. No. He didn’t miss her or her stupid pink hair, or her wide-set dark-lined eyes, or her watermelon-colored lips that usually tasted of her mint sugar-free gum. And he definitely didn’t miss the way she had loved to fall asleep in the crook of his arm, making his arm go to sleep and then later throb with pain when she finally rolled to her side in their bed.
Yep. He didn’t miss her at all.
Damn it.
As the crowd started to dissipate, she made her way over to where he stood at the back of the tent.
She tugged her robe tighter around her body, like she was suddenly self-conscious in his presence.
“You’re welcome,” he said, fully aware from the slightly pursed look on her face that the last thing she wanted to say to him was thank you.
“I didn’t tell you to come here.” She brushed her pink hair out of her face. Up close, he couldn’t help but notice it was dyed the same shade of Barbie pink as her dress.
“Uh-huh,” he grumbled. “You and I both know Billings is my territory.”
“I thought you were out working for a new crew. I don’t keep tabs on you, Eli.” She crossed her arms over her chest, but as she moved her arm over the place she’d taken the hit, she winced with pain and lowered her arms.
“Why did you do such a stupid thing? What would have happened if your guy had missed? What if he’d shot you in the neck?” He reached over and put his finger against the place that the bullet had struck. “You could have died, Zoey.”
She moved away from his touch. “This was hardly the first time, or the last, that I stood at the edge of death, Eli. This is our life—dealing with pain. And you know it just as well as I do.”
And perhaps that was one of the main reasons he was glad they really were no longer together.
“It doesn’t mean it’s okay to make stupid choices.”
“Doing my job isn’t making a stupid choice.” She leaned against the back of a chair. “I believe in the H&K products and its people.” Her tone made it clear he didn’t make her short list.
“Why did you want me to stay, Zoey?” He wasn’t about to stand there and continue to be her whipping boy. “Is it just so you
